Value of a bitcoin doubles, breaks $400 over last two weeks tip @techmeme via @sfgate

Don’t look now, but everyone’s favorite crypto-currency is creeping back up the charts again. Over the past two weeks the value of a bitcoin has skyrocketed from just over $200 to just shy of $450. And it’s not entirely clear why. Baidu, the “Chinese Google”, started accepting bitcoin for some of its security services in October. Given China’s population that may have something to do with the increase. The services are niche cloud computing applications, but those with a longer view may assume the company will start accepting bitcoins for more common services, thus increasing its legitimacy. Either way, a lot of people clearly have some level of confidence that the currency will keep growing in value. Anyone can buy bitcoins by going to an exchange like Mt Gox (which has had its own problems ) and forking over fiat currency for the equivalent number of coins. As demand inc...